Phil Hughes is hoping to kick-start his international career against the same world-class South African pace attack against which it began so memorably three seasons ago.

Hughes returns to international cricket on Friday in Australia A's three-day match against the Proteas in Sydney - his first national cap since being sacked after Australia's batting capitulation against New Zealand in the second Test last summer.

After a successful stint with English county side Worcestershire and a series of scores in Australia's domestic summer so far, Hughes said his confidence had returned to the level it was at when he plundered two hundreds against South Africa in just his second Test.

"My confidence is pretty high at the moment. It's always nice to get some runs and I'm grateful to get selected in the team," Hughes said on Thursday.

"It's not every day you get the chance to play against an international attack of this calibre - it would be nice to pile on a fair few runs."

Hughes made his Test debut in Australia's 2-1 series defeat of South Africa in February and March 2009.

In the second match in Durban - against an attack that included Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel - Hughes became the youngest player to hit hundreds in both innings of a Test with scores of 115 and 160.

Since then, Hughes has also experienced the lows of international cricket, being dumped from the national side after a series of failures. But the 23-year-old believed he was on the way back.

And against a South African side including world top-ranked Test bowler Steyn, Morkel and No.2-rated Vernon Philander, Hughes gets his chance to prove it for Australia A.

"There have been some low lows, but I'm confident in my ability again. I was a lot younger then (when I made my debut) and I feel I'm a better player now.

"I'm confident in where I am at and looking forward to playing against a world-class attack. This is a great opportunity for me and I feel I'm ready for it."